Trends to Watch: Security as a Service
The Economist.com (subscription required) recently reported on the adoption of Google Apps for Your Domain. The Arizona State University jumped on the bandwagon, switching 65,000 students from an in-house email system to Gmail. Why the switch? Security for one thing. According to Adrian Sannier, head of IT at the university “I have a staff of about 30 people dedicated to security ... Google has an army; all of their business fails if they are unable to preserve security and privacy.”
Mr. Sannier also argues he cannot provide the level of innovation at the pace Google can. "Soon Google will integrate its online word processor and spreadsheet software into the service, so that students and teachers can share coursework. Eventually, Google may add blogs and wikis ... is “absolutely inconceivable” that [Sannier] and his staff could roll out improvements at this speed in the traditional way—by buying software and installing it on the university's own computers."
Keeping IT infrastructure secure while constantly changing that infrastructure and delivering core business services is difficult and not a prudent busines decsion in many cases. First there is the need to keep up with changing security threats and vulnerabilities. Small businesses are especially bad at this. Second, even with the knowledge, the time and resource required make a "do it yourself" approach impractical. Google is offering email and other collaboration services, others will focus on security. Expect to see a rise in security services from the outside. It is just the rational division of labor. The idea is at least as old as Adam Smith and the captialist economy. It's no suprise it is coming to IT security.
Email This!
Digg it!
Sphere it!
Del.icio.us
Reddit!
Newsvine
